All About Spelling vs. Spellexi: Honest Comparison
All About Spelling vs. Spellexi: Honest Comparison
If you're trying to decide between All About Spelling and Spellexi, the short answer is: they do different things, and most homeschool families end up using both.
AAS is a phonics curriculum that teaches your child how English spelling works. Spellexi is the practice layer that gets those lessons to stick in long-term memory. One teaches the rules. The other builds the recall.
What each one actually does
All About Spelling is a multi-level, Orton-Gillingham-based spelling program. You sit with your child and work through letter tiles, sound cards, and word lists in a deliberate sequence. AAS is what teaches your child why "e" makes the vowel say its name, why "ck" follows a short vowel, and why "tion" sounds like "shun." It's a real curriculum, and it's well-designed.
Spellexi is an iOS app that handles the daily practice loop. You read words aloud, your child writes them on paper from memory, you take a photo, and the app grades the spelling, tracks mastery, and schedules each word for the next session at the right interval (spaced repetition). No screen time for your child, no spreadsheet for you.
Quick comparison
| All About Spelling | Spellexi | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Phonics curriculum | Practice layer |
| Teaches the rules? | Yes | No |
| Builds long-term retention? | Partially (depends on parent follow-through) | Yes |
| Parent daily prep | 15 to 30 minutes | About a minute |
| Format | Workbooks, letter tiles, cards | iOS app plus paper |
| Adapts to your child's actual misses | No (fixed sequence) | Yes (spaced repetition on missed words) |
| Designed with dyslexia in mind | Yes | Yes |
When to use which (or both)
- Use AAS if you're starting from scratch and your child needs to learn the rules of English spelling step by step. AAS is one of the best phonics programs out there for this.
- Use Spellexi if your child already knows the rules (or is learning them elsewhere) but the words aren't showing up correctly in real writing. Spellexi adds the retrieval practice that turns rule-knowledge into actual spelling skill.
- Use both if you want phonics instruction and daily retention practice without the tracking burden. AAS handles the lesson. Spellexi handles the recall, the scheduling, and the photo grading.
Spellexi was built specifically to work alongside structured programs like AAS, Barton, Logic of English, and Orton-Gillingham. We don't replace them. We make their lessons stick.
The short version
AAS teaches your child how spelling works. Spellexi makes sure they actually remember it next week, next month, and in their own writing. They're complementary tools, not competitors.
If you're already using AAS and your child knows the rules but still misses words in real writing, Spellexi is what closes that gap.
Want to try Spellexi? See pricing. Or be a Feedback Family for free access in exchange for monthly feedback. I'm personally reading every application.